^ o rilly? that would be very good news, its a great location.

 

i have a request. has anyone come across any pop up parking lot bbq this summer? its where people just set up a bbq in the corner of a big old parking lot. ive had good luck with these and want to send a bbq fan to one if anybody has seen any around this year. otherwise, general favorite bbq place? thx

 

Yes, the work Walter & Scott are doing in the Bier Garden at Sterle's is really, really good. Their food is usually just for weekends however, and for brunch. It's not part of the regular Sterle's menu. I went there for brunch a few weeks ago and the food was transformatively good. Walter also pickles a lot of things himself and makes his own sauces. It's really a step above anything I've had. Plus he's just a great guy.

Now this is good marketing! Haha :)

 

^that thing should say how frequently the shuttle runs. from those locations you could possible walk and get there faster than waiting, depending on how often the shuttle comes.

^ o rilly? that would be very good news, its a great location.

 

i have a request. has anyone come across any pop up parking lot bbq this summer? its where people just set up a bbq in the corner of a big old parking lot. ive had good luck with these and want to send a bbq fan to one if anybody has seen any around this year. otherwise, general favorite bbq place? thx

 

These guys rocked it when they had a little place in Macedonia, then later were in Solon:

 

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2015/03/23/fat-casual-bbqs-hyde-and-slagle-to-take-over-food-ops-at-sterles-beer-garden

 

 

perfect -- duly noted and passed along - thx!

A Jonathon Sawyer article in this week's Crain's notes that downtown's Noodlecat will be transitioning to a quick-service choose your own ingredients/make your own bowl type of place. Will now close at 8 pm. Hmmmmm...

A Jonathon Sawyer article in this week's Crain's notes that downtown's Noodlecat will be transitioning to a quick-service choose your own ingredients/make your own bowl type of place. Will now close at 8 pm. Hmmmmm...

 

Probably a good idea.  Noodlecat was really amazing, but probably the most expensive noodles I've had in the entire world.

^ That's amazing news. With Pizza Fire coming, that will be a nice stretch of "fast casual" restaurants, something that downtown Cleveland has been sorely lacking

 

Edit: Here's the article - http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20150726/NEWS/307269991/team-sawyer-is-bigger-busier-than-ever

 

"The 3,600-square-foot Noodlecat on Euclid Avenue is being reframed as a quick-serve lunch and dinner format.

Customers will be able to build their own noodle bowl with a choice of broth, noodle, buns, protein and a separate salad.

“It'll be more like a traditional ramen shop because it's more accessible,” says Julie Novak, director of restaurants for Team Sawyer.

The first phase of a four-phase transformation already has begun, with a new menu prototype complete and the closing time adjusted to 8 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. as of two weeks ago.

 

The Euclid flagship will serve as a model for additional outposts in the 900- to 1,000-square-foot range. Targeted markets include Pittsburgh, Louisville, Detroit and other cities within a day's drive — and then eventually beyond."

I don't begrudge Sawyer one bit for cashing in on his personal brand, but I'm personally disappointed in most of the restaurant news in that article.  I really enjoyed Noodlcat as a full service place and am not real keen on seeing Cleveland's brand diluted by GHT clones opening in nearby cities.  But like I said, not a criticism of Sawyer at all. Great to heat about some of the other stuff he's doing around town, including making is own noodles.

There isn't a bigger fan of Sawyer out there as a chef, but there has been criticisms of him as an entrepreneur and they hold merit.  As good as his food is, I have had intermittent poor service experiences at his places....from the day GHT opened to this year.  I have also heard from former staffers he pays his team poorly.  There was the noodlecat at the WSM that was not well run and it eventually folded. 

 

I agree, I wish noodlecat would maintain its late hours.  I love going there for dinner with the set menu.  Hope picking your own ingredients doesn't take away from its uniqueness

I'm a huge Sawyer fan as well. There has been a lot of demand for a traditional noodle shop and not the concept that the full-service Noodlecat provided, and I wonder if the new concept will be able to answer that call a little better. I'll withhold criticism until I see it. That being said, I've always found him and many other owners and chefs of local places to be very receptive and responsive to constructive criticism. When you have a lot of locations, you can't be everywhere at once and while everyone has an off night, if the owners don't know what's wrong, they can't fix it. Always, always report missteps either to a manager on duty, or, if you're not comfortable bringing it up during your meal, to the manager or owner afterwards. There are a thousand ways to reach Sawyer, he is very active on social media and will respond.

 

 

^This won't be a traditional noodle shop, though, will it?  Sounds more like the Chipotle version of noodles, which is cool, and will offer an excellent fast-casual option, but seems like "traditional noodle shop" is the gap that's opening up, depending how you define it.  I don't mean to exaggerate the importance here. I just happen to be a big noodle/ramen fan (esp in the Cleveland climate!), so just slightly bummed to see the city without a real sit-down shop with that specialty. I know ramen is available at other places, so I won't starve.

A Chipotle version of noodles sounds right. I can only guess they are doing this based on how customers are ordering/customizing things. So no, it won't be a traditional noodle shop, but it wasn't before either. But it does sound like it will be more casual. I wonder how they will change things to reflect that. Look at how popular Happy Dog is, and that's nothing BUT customized orders. Perhaps this is what Clevelanders prefer/desire.

I'll probably go more based on the new concept. The only time I stopped in previously was when I thought it was a takeout noodle place. When I realized it was sit down, I walked back out. I'm much more likely to pick up a dish like that, then to sit down for a formal lunch.

^ Agreed. I like Noodlecat, but I've only been there a couple times. Now I'm certain I will be going there for lunch every now and then. TPH2 is absolutely right that this will create a really nice stretch of fast-casual restaurants. Between the new Noodlecat, Pizza Fire, Jimmy Johns, and Chipotle, that part of Euclid will be a go-to spot for lunch.

I think this actually works out well for downtown. Having all these fast casual joints right by Public Square will hopefully encourage people to dine in the square after getting takeout.

There isn't a bigger fan of Sawyer out there as a chef, but there has been criticisms of him as an entrepreneur and they hold merit.  As good as his food is, I have had intermittent poor service experiences at his places....from the day GHT opened to this year.  I have also heard from former staffers he pays his team poorly.  There was the noodlecat at the WSM that was not well run and it eventually folded. 

 

He needs to take a few notes from zack bruell

I have to admit that I always customize my noodles there, so I'm intrigued to see how the new concept will work.

 

Speaking of fast casual, I finally made it to Choolah for the first time on Friday.  It was damn good for being "fast food".

That's funny, I've been to GHT maybe a couple dozen times and can't recall ever having a serious service issue (and I'm very sensitive to service issues when dining out). Funny how that goes.

 

had brunch at Urban Farmer over the weekend, it was tastier than I expected it to be. It sure is dark in the back though and they cram the 2 tops together which I hate. I'll be sitting at the bar next time.

A little promo piece in scene about the imminent opening of Alley Cats in FEB: http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2015/07/31/alley-cat-oyster-bar-just-days-from-opening-in-the-flats

 

Sounds like it could a great spot.

Anyone know what restaurant this will be? It used to be the LaBarberia Institute of Hair. Here's the sale listing/promo:

http://www.colliers.com/~/media/Images/Properties/id1/b/c/d/8064ab4f476a88fe5603f27b64c3/Cleveland-%2012115-12117%20Mayfield%20Rd%20flyer.pdf.ashx

 

BZA docket.....

 

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/bza/agenda/2015/crr08-17-2015.pdf

 

Board of Zoning Appeals

AUGUST 17, 2015

 

9:30 Ward 6

Calendar No. 15-156: 12117 Mayfield Road Mamie J. Mitchell

27 Notices

12117 Mayfield LLC, owner, proposes to establish use as a restaurant in a C2 General Retail Business

District. The owner appeals for relief from Section 349.04(f) which states that twenty (20) parking

spaces are required and three (3) are proposed. (Filed July 9, 2015)

Per liquor license info: "Tavern of Little Italy" recently received liquor license for that address.. But, do they already exist in space or opening new place:

 

Here is more info:

 

http://nl-nl.vi-vn.fb.me/TavernOfLittleItaly/posts/336159579926450

 

 

"TOLI" is a work in progress last i saw. Looks and sounds like its gonna be neat.

 

Pizza Fire in the old Zoup loction opens on Tues Aug 18 and evidently it will be open until 11 PM.

That stretch has become a dead zone (hard to believe) at night since NoodlaCat now closes at 8.

As of right now only Chipotle has lights on late.

So we'll be back to 2 of the 4 staying open late after Pizza fire arrives, alleviating (somewhat) the  strange dead-zone feel after dark currently seen at the top of Euclid ave.

 

 

 

 

 

A new restaurant "C'est La Vie Restaurant and Lounge" is opening at 1801 E9th St.  I believe it will be owned and operated by Faozou Ligali. 

I've been trying to figure out the deal with that space. They have signage up but no online or social media presence... Hope it works out because the last place (Table 9) was a flop

They have an Instagram account (cestlavie216) that advertised their opening as Donte Whitner's birthday party on July 25. It looks like they're trying to be an upscale, hip-hop night club (maybe similar to "the Bank" in the May Co. building)??

They have an Instagram account (cestlavie216) that advertised their opening as Donte Whitner's birthday party on July 25. It looks like they're trying to be an upscale, hip-hop night club (maybe similar to "the Bank" in the May Co. building)??

 

"Private booths" and "full bottle service".

 

Aren't those usually marks of a not-so-"upscale" hip hop club?

Pizza Fire is open! I thought it was great. Lots of good options and not a bad price (under $10 for a pizza and soda). My pizza was ready in about 3-4 minutes.

 

 

All of a sudden we're knee deep in pizza places, has Pizza 216 open up yet?

Pizza Fire is open! I thought it was great. Lots of good options and not a bad price (under $10 for a pizza and soda). My pizza was ready in about 3-4 minutes.

 

 

 

Reminds me a lot of the "Blaze" pizza company (fast, choose-your-toppings pizza) that seems to be rapidly expanding across the country and recently set up shop on High St in Columbus. Friends at OSU tell me that it is doing well and has consistently long lines.

 

Reminds me a lot of the "Blaze" pizza company (fast, choose-your-toppings pizza) that seems to be rapidly expanding across the country and recently set up shop on High St in Columbus. Friends at OSU tell me that it is doing well and has consistently long lines.

 

 

Yeah, pretty much the same thing. Blaze apparently is looking to enter the Cleveland market as well. I like that Pizza Fire is a NE Ohio based company though.

 

 

 

Looks nice, glad that it's busy, and quickly filling a hole downtown. But ugh(!) the "menu" on the right has a pet peeve that REALLY irks me, and that for some reason I've noticed a lot in these "local-but-trying-to-be-polished" one-off restaurants and small chains: "Speciality Pizza's"

 

I don't know what it is, but I guess I feel that if you're an entrepreneur in the restaurant biz, and image and word-of-mouth is so critical to your success (or failure), to have such a blatant, elementary school mistake on literally the largest sign in your business is just...disappointing.  Fortunately, that digital sign is easily changed.  Hopefully someone has caught it and done so already.

If you are old enough, you remember a cigarette advertising campaign that said "What do you want? Good grammar or good taste?"

^^I wonder what the pizza's specialty is.  :evil:

I have offered countless times to restaurant friends to proof their menus and other signage before they open, but very few have taken me up on it. A chef friend recently had me to his place and wanted to know what I thought of my trip. I loved my food. While I was eating it, I marked up the menu with a pen and gave it to the server and told him to give it to the chef. I mean, I just have no tolerance for this stuff, unless you're a tiny, family-owned place where English isn't your first language, like some Asian noodle shop or something.

I have offered countless times to restaurant friends to proof their menus and other signage before they open, but very few have taken me up on it.

 

There's an Asian restaurant downtown that has had "CRAP MEAT" on their seafood menu for two years.

Pizza Fire is open! I thought it was great. Lots of good options and not a bad price (under $10 for a pizza and soda). My pizza was ready in about 3-4 minutes.

 

 

 

I've worked at a "Mom and Pop" Italian restaurant, an Italian restaurant that you would probably consider "fine dining" and now I operate a national chain pizzeria. There's many things I'm not skilled at but making a pizza is one thing I do know a lot about. I can tell you with certainty that that's not a good looking or good quality pizza. Their pizza maker needs to be coached. The bake is uneven from them having one side close to the opening of the oven and the other side further back where there's more heat. You simply spin the pizza 180 degrees to mitigate that issue. Toppings aren't evenly distributed so you don't get consistency with every bite. The base cheese of mozzarella/provolone or whatever they're using is really skimpy and you can tell that because the cheese is almost the color of the red sauce underneath it. The dough wasn't kneaded enough and what happens when you don't knead all of it with a roller or even simply your hands is that you get pockets forming in the dough that turn into giant bubbles from where the carbon dioxide expands with heat exposure and said bubbles grow and burn to a crisp if you don't catch it soon enough because they become an extremity on the pizza, like you see here. From this picture alone I'd say this place needs to work on training their cooks/chefs on how to make a quality product before worrying about signage. You can improve your marketing and advertising all you want but if you don't have a quality product and service in place to back it up, I'd argue that it's a waste of money.

David, interesting post and thank you for your insight! I have a lot of epicurean friends that say bits like the charred bubble there are "artisanal" and what make a pizza unique and great - that this is how you can tell it's hand-formed and made by a person and not a machine or whatever. Some of the most highly recommended artisanal pizza places in town turn out pizzas that have charred spots like that. (Vero, Biga, etc.) Google either name for pictures and you'll see what I mean. The food peeps even have a name for it - artfully charred. Thoughts?

 

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/03/poll-is-it-charred-or-burned.html

It looks like they're going for the Neapolitan style of pizza, which is apparently very popular with 'the kids' these days. I'm not a fan, but every picture I've ever seen of one always has those globs of mozzarella, and the burn spots and/or bubbles. Either that's how it's supposed to be, or everyone just likes really lazy pizza.

 

Anyway, I'm with David, get some better shots at least. That pizza doesn't work it for me.

 

edit: Looks like RNR described it better. 'Artfully charred'. Sounds like someone marketing burnt (kind of like Starbucks does with their coffee).

 

I've worked at a "Mom and Pop" Italian restaurant, an Italian restaurant that you would probably consider "fine dining" and now I operate a national chain pizzeria. There's many things I'm not skilled at but making a pizza is one thing I do know a lot about. I can tell you with certainty that that's not a good looking or good quality pizza. Their pizza maker needs to be coached. The bake is uneven from them having one side close to the opening of the oven and the other side further back where there's more heat. You simply spin the pizza 180 degrees to mitigate that issue. Toppings aren't evenly distributed so you don't get consistency with every bite. The base cheese of mozzarella/provolone or whatever they're using is really skimpy and you can tell that because the cheese is almost the color of the red sauce underneath it. The dough wasn't kneaded enough and what happens when you don't knead all of it with a roller or even simply your hands is that you get pockets forming in the dough that turn into giant bubbles from where the carbon dioxide expands with heat exposure and said bubbles grow and burn to a crisp if you don't catch it soon enough because they become an extremity on the pizza, like you see here. From this picture alone I'd say this place needs to work on training their cooks/chefs on how to make a quality product before worrying about signage. You can improve your marketing and advertising all you want but if you don't have a quality product and service in place to back it up, I'd argue that it's a waste of money.

 

Thanks for your opinion. I thought it was very good though. My only complaint was that the cheese didn't cover the entire pie, but I imagine that wouldn't be the case if I had gotten the shredded mozzarella cheese instead. Also, it was their first day (even the first few hours of their first day), so let's see how they do once they get more in the rhythm of things.

 

Edit: And I disagree about it not being evenly cooked, and I like the charring and dough bubbles as well.

I had the same reaction as R&R and AJ93, but I have a very strong preference for Neapolitan style pizzas. Based on the photo, I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy that Pizza Fire pie more than almost every national chain and more than pretty much every mom and pop pizza I've ever eaten in Cleveland. I even liked the splotchiness of the cheese distribution. Not everyone likes a uniformly thick layer of low quality cheese covering every square inch of the pie.  I'd never argue the kind of pizza I like is "better," but I'm happy there's at least some more choice now for those of us who think Cleveland is a narrow and underwhelming pizza town.

^ I'll agree with that sentiment. I personally don't love Neapolitan, but it's a legit style of pizza that is under represented in CLE.

 

That said, you'll pry my Vincenza's out of my cold dead hands. A death likely induced by a clogged artery.

In all fairness, I don't know that bubbles are really a feature of Neapolitan pizza.  I had quite a few of those in Italy, no bubbles.

The mozzarella used on true Neapolitan pizza is called fresh mozzarella or buffalo mozzarella. It's got a different consistency and taste than your run of the mill mozzarella because it's stored in water or oil and it is oh so good. Then with the basil, oh that pizza is fantastic. For you Clevelanders visit Crostatas in Highland Heights. In Columbus visit Natalie's Coal Fired Pizza and Live Music in Worthington or Pizza Cucinova (a new, delicious concept that interestingly is from Sbarro) in Easton or Grandview.

 

Not sure about Pizza Fire just from the pic, in addition to what was already discussed I don't think the Neapolitan style goes well with a ton of meat. And while the mozzarella is placed in 'globs' it looks like regular cheap mozzarella placed that way for effect, as opposed to being actual fresh mozzarella.

 

Most Cleveland pizza joints, at least from my youth on the east side, appear to be derived from more of a Sicilian style pizza. Rectangular with a thicker crust. Cleveland had Sicilian immigrants and immigrants from south central Italy, inland from Naples, particularly the Molise region. From my experience, it seems the Sicilian influence won out in the pizza department.

David, interesting post and thank you for your insight! I have a lot of epicurean friends that say bits like the charred bubble there are "artisanal" and what make a pizza unique and great - that this is how you can tell it's hand-formed and made by a person and not a machine or whatever. Some of the most highly recommended artisanal pizza places in town turn out pizzas that have charred spots like that. (Vero, Biga, etc.) Google either name for pictures and you'll see what I mean. The food peeps even have a name for it - artfully charred. Thoughts?

 

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/03/poll-is-it-charred-or-burned.html

 

Yeah, those are the kinds of people who go to restaurants and say they want their food "well done but not burned." They're pretty hard to please. I'm sure there's a niche for that, I was just speaking for the majority and I feel confident doing that because I've dealt with an infinite number of complaints from customers regarding their pizza.  Honestly, for a pizzeria to specialize in those kinds of pizzas, it sounds like an excuse to make hastily made food; not scraping the oven/cleaning pizza pans and cooking them at 900 degrees to get customers in and out quicker. A little char can be alright and give it a smoky flavor but not when you take entire bites of char.

 

The trend right now is fast casual. Customers want counter instead of table service but they want demand the quality of a full service restaurant. They want things that are "build your own" and they want it in only a couple minutes. The problem is that you can't properly make and bake a pizza in that amount of time and I don't think it's a good idea to cook it at 900 degrees, especially one with thicker crust. You're not giving the heat enough time to penetrate all the way to the center.

 

 

^ Their oven is 800°, not 900°. But regardless, pizza is such a wide spectrum and there are many different kinds and styles. No one pizzaria can claim that there is a right or wrong way to make pizza. I'm sure that there are people out there who didn't like the pizza that was made at the 'mom and pop' shop that you worked at.

Well the company I work for now does over twice as much in sales per unit than the average pizzeria so I'm pretty confident in knowing how a proper pizza is made and that the majority don't like them burned. I obviously can't speak for everyone. However, if they're turning out pizzas like that regularly, I doubt they'll be able to keep their food cost low and retain customers at a level that would keep them in business. If it does work for them, good, but if the graphics of the pizza on their website are any indication of what their product is intended to look like, the cook clearly screwed up. This photo is from their own website.

Over in Uptown, it appears that both Crop and Zach Bruel's Dynomite burgers, have moved into the failed spaces of the glitzy Asian place and the beer seller, respectively, (I forgot their names already), and are making a go of it. Both restaurants appeared busy yesterday eve.  Has this generally been the case?  I know their predecessors always seemed empty.

Pizza Fire is open! I thought it was great. Lots of good options and not a bad price (under $10 for a pizza and soda). My pizza was ready in about 3-4 minutes.

 

 

 

 

nice -- wait, is that real/fresh mozzarella on it?

 

looks tasty -- i like the crust charred like that.

Pizza Fire is open! I thought it was great. Lots of good options and not a bad price (under $10 for a pizza and soda). My pizza was ready in about 3-4 minutes.

 

 

 

 

nice -- wait, is that real/fresh mozzarella on it?

 

looks tasty -- i like the crust charred like that.

 

You guys are driving me caprese   :-o

Pizza Fire is open! I thought it was great. Lots of good options and not a bad price (under $10 for a pizza and soda). My pizza was ready in about 3-4 minutes.

 

 

 

nice -- wait, is that real/fresh mozzarella on it?

 

looks tasty -- i like the crust charred like that.

 

You guys are driving me caprese   :-o

 

 

I tried it again yesterday, and my verdict is....the same as it was before. It's very good. No ones forcing you to eat there.

 

In other news, Chapati Indian Grill is open in Uptown.